Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Africa

The dirt road tells her story
The rocks share her pain
The bucket placed on her head
Proves she has no shame

The sun beats heavily on her back
The kids crying to be fed
The long hours, the hard work
Leaves little time or her head

Her hair rough
Personality tough
Her eyes show no fear
Her voice trembles

Her legs bare
Her eyes begin to tear

She wonders

She cries to God

What can I do?

I have no money
My husband dead
With these scarps of food
How do my children get fed?
She continues her struggle

Ignored by the crowd
Constantly wondering to herself
Why is Africa so proud?

We have greedy leaders
And dirty running water
We have no money for food
And no animals to slaughter

The dead lay out to rot
the sick, lay cut and bruised

People walking all over the place
Emotion, physically, and psychologically abused
Where did things go wrong?
She tries her best
She cannot do it alone
She asks for help
But has no phone
She calls for help,
No one to hear her talk
Scars on her small frame, disable her to walk

All this money
Too much greed
You would think the leaders would look at these children, and be encouraged to grow a beautiful seed

A seed full of hope
A seed full of love
A seed full of laughter
A seed full of hugs

Cannot understand
The way money is used
The way money is abused
The way money is misused

Cannot understand why people act blindly
To people standing in line
For things to save lives

Like medicine, and vaccines
These do make a difference
Like flu shots, and clean medical supplies
When a baby has just been born
This does not have to be the Africa,
We all claim to know and admire

But yet for some odd reason
We keep voting for liars

When will we stand up?
And reclaim the African dream?
When will we finally put our feet down?
And start to scream

Words of hope
Words of wisdom
Words of encouragement
But not words of cynicism

This is our Africa
This is our home
This is our culture and
This is our mould

2 comments:

This is beautiful! Very moving. I am teaching literature now. Do I have your permission to use this poem in my 9th grade class? I want to look at ways in which a poet creates mood and tone. Please, please, pretty please?

From the local to the continental, the Fahamu Pan-African Fellowship (FPAF) program has a vision of nurturing African social justice leaders - generating contemporary, energetic, visionary and innovative thought and activism. FPAF is a one-year program that seeks to strengthen community based organisations and social movements across Africa by identifying individual community based activists with qualities of leadership and innovation, and providing them with hands-on work experience, training and development opportunities. The program aims to enhance the skills, knowledge and experience of community-based activists while increasing the effectiveness and professionalism of their affiliated organisations and movements.

Fellowship coordinatorFahamu is seeking a coordinator for its Pan-African Fellowship Program. The coordinator will be based in our Nairobi, Kenya office.

Reporting to the Deputy Director, the fellowship coordinator will be responsible for:• Developing curriculum for the Fellowship program and facilitating participatory workshops, seminars and other learning forums using diverse material and tools• Conducting briefing sessions for prospective fellows and developing fellowship application material• Identifying and coordinating the selection of host organisations, projects, fellows and mentors• Providing and coordinating fellows’ induction, monthly forums and seminars, evaluation and wrap-up workshops and seminars• Coordinating and maintaining consistent communication with fellows, host organisations, mentors and Fahamu• Moderating online discussions and forums for fellows for the continuous exchange of information, ideas, experiences, dialogue and resources• Coordinating the production of the book and video of fellows’ experiences• Providing regular updates and reports to multiple audiences on the fellowship program• Preparing financial and narrative reports at regular intervals• Fundraising, proposal writing and donor liaison for the program• Such other duties as may be required from time to time by mutual agreement You must:• Have at least five years experience working with social movements and community based organisations• Have demonstrable experience developing curriculum and training materials• Have demonstrable project leadership skills• Be highly organised and able to work under pressure and to tight deadlines• Have a demonstrable commitment to social justice and human rights in Africa• Have excellent inter-personal skills• Have excellent writing and communications skills• Be fluent in English. Fluency in Kiswahili is also preferred.• Be able to work with people from diverse backgrounds and experiences• Have budget and financial management experience• Be a self-starter, able to take initiative, and work effectively as part of a team• Be proficient in the use of word processing and spreadsheet software• Experience of using multi-media tools for multiple purposes is a plus• Be based in Nairobi with the ability to travel if and when necessary

This position is for an initial two year contract period.Please send your CV, cover letter and names of three referees to: winnie@fahamu.orgApplications close 17th December 2009. Applications received after this date will not be considered. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.Position start date: 18th January 2010This is a full time position. Competitive salary commensurate with experience.Fahamu is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

About Fahamu:Fahamu is a pan-African organisation that supports the movement for social justice in Africa. We work with social movements that address the needs of the most vulnerable and marginalised in society. Fahamu seeks to nurture these movements to become significant agents for change by enhancing individual, collective and organisational leadership, skills and knowledge, as well as by creating platforms and networks for effective advocacy, enhancing the use of diverse and innovative tactics and strategies for change, and amplifying Africa-centred voices, perspectives and solutions.

Submitted by Kemi Bello

2. Oxfam is taking in applications for OFXAM INTERNATIONAL YOUTH PARTNERSHIP, open to people below the age of 25. Deadline: october 2010. For more details please go to www.oiyp.oxfam.orgSubmitted by Yvonne Laruni.

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Welcome to the MIVOICE blog, a virtual space where MILEAD Fellows and other guest bloggers can explore their freedom of expression. We welcome comments and suggestions and we are excited to join hands in moving Africa forward, one word and one action at a time.